Is a Garda insured to drive your car?

millington

Searched about this and couldn't find anything so lock it up and post the relevant thread if there is 1.

Is a Garda insured to drive your car when it's being seized, if you do not give him permission to drive it?

And I know nothing will come of it, but if he does so, is there any form of complaint that can be made about it?

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Who's gonna stop him ?

and even if you don't give permission for them to drive your car they still can, thats why its called seizing i.e. your car from your possession

wonski

Pretty sure they are covered to drive seized car. Even if it is not an insurance policy as such.
Sorry for your loss:D

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

You could try complaining to the Garda ombudsman. Not sure how far you'd get. I'd imagine gardai are covered to drive any vehicle once it's in the course of their duties.

How would any car ever be seized if you could just "refuse permission"?!

Peregrine

millington wrote: »

And I know nothing will come of it, but if he does so, is there any form of complaint that can be made about it?

Assuming the Garda was enforcing a law by seizing your vehicle, not really. It would be stupid to let people make complaints about Guards doing their job.

foggy_lad

millington wrote: »

Searched about this and couldn't find anything so lock it up and post the relevant thread if there is 1.

Is a Garda insured to drive your car when it's being seized, if you do not give him permission to drive it?

And I know nothing will come of it, but if he does so, is there any form of complaint that can be made about it?

Considering how they don't need to be licenced to drive gardai vehicles I would think they are allowed drive any vehicle they want if it is part of their duties. In this case the gardas driving would be insured in the same way they are insured while driving garda vehicles. If they seized your vehicle they no longer require your permission to move it or drive it. They would be entitled to remove the vehicle if they thought that someone might return to it and drive it away with a spare set of keys before the tow truck got there.

gctest50

Could be worse :

https://www.youtube.com/v/zadq9usA2SQ

carzony

They can drive anything. Not nice seeing your car been driven away from you, is it? lol

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

foggy_lad wrote: »

Considering how they don't need to be licenced to drive gardai vehicles I would think they are allowed drive any vehicle they want if it is part of their duties. In this case the gardas driving would be insured in the same way they are insured while driving garda vehicles. If they seized your vehicle they no longer require your permission to move it or drive it. They would be entitled to remove the vehicle if they thought that someone might return to it and drive it away with a spare set of keys before the tow truck got there.

Do you know of a source for this information? I've heard there are two types of garda drivers, "official" which would be one who has successfully completed the garda driver training course, and "unofficial" which is a garda who holds a full license. I'd be amazed and disappointed to hear that a garda could just hop into any car without at least having a license to drive it.

wonski

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Do you know of a source for this information? I've heard there are two types of garda drivers, "official" which would be one who has successfully completed the garda driver training course, and "unofficial" which is a garda who holds a full license. I'd be amazed and disappointed to hear that a garda could just hop into any car without at least having a license to drive it.

They had a permission or something in the past, but i wouldn't call it a regular thing. As much valid as the folks who had their licences without taking the test. By today most, if not all Gardai do have a full driving license.

carzony

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Do you know of a source for this information? I've heard there are two types of garda drivers, "official" which would be one who has successfully completed the garda driver training course, and "unofficial" which is a garda who holds a full license. I'd be amazed and disappointed to hear that a garda could just hop into any car without at least having a license to drive it.

It was in the news a while ago. A detective on his way to court knocked someone down and it turned out he didnt even have a license. Gardai are not required to hold a license when driving patrol cars..

I'm sure they'll say all drivers have a license but these days with cut backs ect.. I'd say anyone can jump in the drivers seat of those patrol cars..

angelfire9

The permission ye are referring to is known as "Chef's permission" where the Chief Super of a district gives permission to members who have not completed the driving course to drive marked vehicles
This generally does NOT happen anymore, mainly because there are more trained Gardaí than there are available cars
All Gardaí driving official vehicles have basic category B driving licences :rolleyes:
And to answer the OP driving of vehicles while in the course of their duties is covered under the same insurance as Garda cars, ambulances, fire engines etc etc

As a side note would love to see a link to that alleged incident with the detective with no licence

carzony

angelfire9 wrote: »

As a side note would love to see a link to that alleged incident with the detective with no licence

I believe he was on his way to court and couldnt be charged because he didnt actually break any laws.. I'll look for the link.

carzony

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CFgQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishkop.com%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D12339&ei=FTfCUsSSPMXm7AaOx4DYAg&usg=AFQjCNEN1ZV93sYKGKp7IvpPGapprWnQvQ&sig2=js-m2uXyOOBlOeo51uqtcA

angelfire9

carzony wrote: »

I believe he was on his way to court and couldnt be charged because he didnt actually break any laws.. I'll look for the link.

Rules of the road do not apply to Gardaí in the course of their duties which would include driving to court but will wait & see the article anyway :P

Edit: Read the article
The incident was in 2007 when there was alot more Gardaí and alot more cars
But still he shouldn't have been on the road IMHO

wonski

angelfire9 wrote: »

The permission ye are referring to is known as "Chef's permission" where the Chief Super of a district gives permission to members who have not completed the driving course to drive marked vehicles
This generally does NOT happen anymore, mainly because there are more trained Gardaí than there are available cars
All Gardaí driving official vehicles have basic category B driving licences :rolleyes:
And to answer the OP driving of vehicles while in the course of their duties is covered under the same insurance as Garda cars, ambulances, fire engines etc etc

As a side note would love to see a link to that alleged incident with the detective with no licence

Here is a good one:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0419/317748-limerick-based-garda-fined-900-for-offences/

Not the one you sked for, but 900euro fine says it all. He was of a good character and all this.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

That garda was driving his own car, but in the course of his duties. Fair enough.

Anyone else curious about whether or not he drove it outside the course of his duties, and how he managed to obtain insurance, despite having no license?

carzony

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

That garda was driving his own car, but in the course of his duties. Fair enough.

Anyone else curious about whether or not he drove it outside the course of his duties, and how he managed to obtain insurance, despite having no license?

Still proves having a license means f.all in a patrol car.. Why that's part of the law doesnt even makes sense. Why on earth would you put someone in a patrol car without even a license..

He was in his own car but i'd bet he has driven patrol cars in the past. Just didnt wanna admit it in court.....

angelfire9

Geez lads I don't know
My husbands super must be a right dick their cars get checked for tax, insurance, NCT, tyres, lights etc etc every three months

Nonetheless my first comment stands:

angelfire9 wrote: »

The permission ye are referring to is known as "Chef's permission" where the Chief Super of a district gives permission to members who have not completed the driving course to drive marked vehicles
This generally does NOT happen anymore, mainly because there are more trained Gardaí than there are available cars
All Gardaí driving official vehicles have basic category B driving licences :rolleyes:
And to answer the OP driving of vehicles while in the course of their duties is covered under the same insurance as Garda cars, ambulances, fire engines etc etc

carzony

angelfire9 wrote: »

Geez lads I don't know
My husbands super must be a right dick their cars get checked for tax, insurance, NCT, tyres, lights etc etc every three months

Which is hopefully done in most stations across Ireland might aswell sack traffic so

wonski

angelfire9 wrote: »

Geez lads I don't know
My husbands super must be a right dick their cars get checked for tax, insurance, NCT, tyres, lights etc etc every three months

Nonetheless my first comment stands:

He should have started from checking their documents then. Would save a lot of hassle;)
We went fully OT, those Garda threads always end this way...

angelfire9

wonski wrote: »

He should have started from checking their documents then. Would save a lot of hassle;)
We went fully OT, those Garda threads always end this way...

He did the first week he arrived
Led to a massive search of the house for hubby's licence which turned up in my car

angelfire9

carzony wrote: »

Which is hopefully done in most stations across Ireland might aswell sack traffic so

There are less than 13k Gardaí in the state and over a million drivers I don't think Traffic Corps is gonna be out of a job anytime soon

Pat Mustard

Gardai who are acting in the course of their duties are exempt from various requirements of the Road Traffic Acts, to include insurance, speeding, etc.

mcgarrett

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

That garda was driving his own car, but in the course of his duties. Fair enough.

Anyone else curious about whether or not he drove it outside the course of his duties, and how he managed to obtain insurance, despite having no license?

More than likely obtained insurance when provisional licence was in force and paid the renewal each year after.

ted1

Do they even drive seized cars? Any time I've seen them there put on a car transporter

Cabaal

ted1 wrote: »

Do they even drive seized cars? Any time I've seen them there put on a car transporter

Wouldn't they have to be driven onto one and off again at the very least?
Also wouldn't they have to be driven into place in the impound lot?

tbh I'd rather they drive the car to the place its going to be held instead of wasting tax payer money getting a car transporter.

If people are going to do stupid things causing their car to be seized then hard luck to them

delly

Cabaal wrote: »

tbh I'd rather they drive the car to the place its going to be held instead of wasting tax payer money getting a car transporter.

Well you could equally think of the wasted money of a Garda unit being out of action for an hour while they escort the car to the pound.

knifey_spoonie

Cabaal wrote: »

tbh I'd rather they drive the car to the place its going to be held instead of wasting tax payer money getting a car transporter.

It doesn't cost the tax payer anything considering the owner of the vehicle pays all charges.

I'm pretty sure the garda are insured by the state. Hence why there is no coverage issues regarding other vehicles

No Pants

angelfire9 wrote: »

The permission ye are referring to is known as "Chef's permission"

Can he/she be local or does it have to be one off the telly?

Pappa Charlie

carzony wrote: »

It was in the news a while ago. A detective on his way to court knocked someone down and it turned out he didnt even have a license. Gardai are not required to hold a license when driving patrol cars..

I'm sure they'll say all drivers have a license but these days with cut backs ect.. I'd say anyone can jump in the drivers seat of those patrol cars..

Gardai have to have a full licence to drive patrol cars end of story. In some cases a licence may have expired unknown to management and only come to notice with spot checks which happen regularily. Seized cars can be driven as the car is in the custody of the state and covered by the same policy as patrol cars when being driven. If the OP taxed and insured the car they would not have this problem!

Alfasudcrazy

Well once they have a valid driving licence to drive the class of vehicle being seized and are officially on duty they are insured by the state. It would not be possible for them to drive a lorry for instance if they were not qualified to do so by their driving licence but I doubt any of them would try to do this anyway.

Fozzie Bear

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

Well once they have a valid driving licence to drive the class of vehicle being seized and are officially on duty they are insured by the state. It would not be possible for them to drive a lorry for instance if they were not qualified to do so by their driving licence but I doubt any of them would try to do this anyway.

Really? My brother is a Garda and told me he can drive a tank, truck, airplane if needs be, to seize it, move it etc off the public roadway. Doesn't need to have a relevant licence to cover him driving it once he is on duty. He is a qualified high speed Garda driver so maybe that covers him? Or maybe they have changed the rules since. It was 2/3 years ago when I asked him.

angelfire9

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

Really? My brother is a Garda and told me he can drive a tank, truck, airplane if needs be, to seize it, move it etc off the public roadway. Doesn't need to have a relevant licence to cover him driving it once he is on duty. He is a qualified high speed Garda driver so maybe that covers him? Or maybe they have changed the rules since. It was 2/3 years ago when I asked him.

Afaik they can drive anything from motorbikes to 40 foots and everything in between while on duty and driving in the course of their duties
Think an airplane might be stretching it a bit :D

irish_goat

Sorry OP, what do you expect the Gardai to do with your car if you're caught drink driving or driving illegally? Just abandon the car because you didn't give "permission"?

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

Well once they have a valid driving licence to drive the class of vehicle being seized and are officially on duty they are insured by the state. It would not be possible for them to drive a lorry for instance if they were not qualified to do so by their driving licence but I doubt any of them would try to do this anyway.

Misinformed rubbish.

Pappa Charlie

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Misinformed rubbish.

Even more misinformed rubbish!

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

Even more misinformed rubbish!

Please advise where my "misinformed rubbish" is.
It is well known that Gardai in the course of their duty may drive any vehicle and do not need to hold a license to do so.

Pappa Charlie

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Please advise where my "misinformed rubbish" is.
It is well known that Gardai in the course of their duty may drive any vehicle and do not need to hold a license to do so.

You didn't bother to advise anyone as to why it was misinformed rubbish when you posted yet you want me to state why!

I'm a garda and I would not drive a vehicle I don't hold a licence for or have not been trained offically to drive. Ie a HGV

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

You didn't bother to advise anyone as to why it was misinformed rubbish when you posted yet you want me to state why!

I'm a garda and I would not drive a vehicle I don't hold a licence for or have not been trained offically to drive. Ie a HGV

It was misinformed rubbish as the poster said a garda needed a license to drive any car they needed to, in the course of duty.

Say there was a HGV blocking the road and the driver was taken into custody. No AGS around with a CE license to drive it, so any AGS member can. Same way that any AGS member is insured to drive a patrol car in the course of duty, regardless of license/insurance etc.

wotzgoingon

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Do you know of a source for this information? I've heard there are two types of garda drivers, "official" which would be one who has successfully completed the garda driver training course, and "unofficial" which is a garda who holds a full license. I'd be amazed and disappointed to hear that a garda could just hop into any car without at least having a license to drive it.

Sure I was arrested one time and the ban garda was telling me she was supposed to be driving but just let the younger guard drive. I was glad to get out of the car the muppet was doing 100 miles hour plus over taking around corners and everything.

mfergus

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

You didn't bother to advise anyone as to why it was misinformed rubbish when you posted yet you want me to state why!

I'm a garda and I would not drive a vehicle I don't hold a licence for or have not been trained offically to drive. Ie a HGV

Just because you wouldn't doesn't mean it's not allowed

Days 298

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

Really? My brother is a Garda and told me he can drive a tank, truck, airplane if needs be, to seize it, move it etc off the public roadway. Doesn't need to have a relevant licence to cover him driving it once he is on duty. He is a qualified high speed Garda driver so maybe that covers him? Or maybe they have changed the rules since. It was 2/3 years ago when I asked him.

Was that said over a few pints :pac:

mfergus

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

Really? My brother is a Garda and told me he can drive a tank, truck, airplane if needs be, to seize it, move it etc off the public roadway. Doesn't need to have a relevant licence to cover him driving it once he is on duty. He is a qualified high speed Garda driver so maybe that covers him? Or maybe they have changed the rules since. It was 2/3 years ago when I asked him.

Is your surname norris by any chance?

I think I may know your brother chuck

Days 298

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

You didn't bother to advise anyone as to why it was misinformed rubbish when you posted yet you want me to state why!

I'm a garda and I would not drive a vehicle I don't hold a licence for or have not been trained offically to drive. Ie a HGV

Sh*t lads everyone slow down to 20 under the speed limit!! Also everyone drop their phone!

Pappa Charlie

Days 298 wrote: »

Sh*t lads everyone slow down to 20 under the speed limit!! Also everyone drop their phone!

Are you back to school next week?

Pappa Charlie

mfergus wrote: »

Just because you wouldn't doesn't mean it's not allowed

It's not allowed

Days 298

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

Are you back to school next week?

What are you implying with these question. I'm 18 doing the Leaving Cert you looked at my post history well done. Am I not allowed post a joke on motors or something?

Calm down mate.

Pappa Charlie

Days 298 wrote: »

What are you implying with these question. I'm 18 doing the Leaving Cert you looked at my post history well done. Am I not allowed post a joke on motors or something?

Calm down mate.

I was just curious, would never have though you were 18, bet your parents are proud of you!

Cee-Jay-Cee

foggy_lad wrote: »

Considering how they don't need to be licenced to drive gardai vehicles I would think they are allowed drive any vehicle they want if it is part of their duties. In this case the gardas driving would be insured in the same way they are insured while driving garda vehicles. If they seized your vehicle they no longer require your permission to move it or drive it. They would be entitled to remove the vehicle if they thought that someone might return to it and drive it away with a spare set of keys before the tow truck got there.

Gardai require a full driving licence before being permitted to drive patrol vehicles. Many have the standard driving course done which is an intense 2 week course with a driving test at the end of it which is a higher standard than the advanced driving test available to the public.

They require a full driving licence to drive whatever type of vehicle they are seizing, for example, if they were seizing a bus or truck, they require the relevant bus or truck licence in order to drive it away.

Days 298

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

I was just curious, would never have though you were 18, bet your parents are proud of you!

How dare you, you arrogant c*nt.